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The
Unsung
Ally:
Mexican
Involvement in World War Two
Joining the war, Mexico helps push the allies over the
top
By Christopher Minster, About.com Guide
American Soldiers during the Battle of Okinawa
Public Domain Image
Everyone knows the World War Two Allied Powers: the United States
of America, the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, New
Zealand...and Mexico?
That’s right, Mexico. In May of 1942, the United States of Mexico
declared war on the Axis alliance. They even saw some combat: a
Mexican fighter squad fought valiantly in the South Pacific in 1945. But
their importance to the Allied effort was much greater than a handful
of pilots and airplanes.
Mexico in the 1930’s
In the 1930’s, Mexico was a devastated land. The Mexican Revolution1
(1910-1920) had claimed hundreds of thousands of lives; as many
more were displaced or saw their homes and cities destroyed. The
Revolution was followed by the Cristero War (1926-1929), a series of
violent uprisings against the new government. Just as the dust was
beginning to settle, the Great Depression2 started and the Mexican
economy suffered badly. Politically, the nation was unstable as Alvaro
Obregón3, last of the great revolutionary warlords, continued to rule
directly or indirectly until 1928.
Life in Mexico did not start to improve until 1934, when the honest
reformer Lázaro Cárdenas del Rio4 took power. He cleaned up as much
of the corruption as he could and made great strides towards reestablishing Mexico as a stable, productive nation. He kept Mexico
decidedly neutral in the brewing conflict in Europe, even though agents
from Germany and the United States continued to try and gain
Mexican support. Cárdenas nationalized Mexico’s vast oil reserves and
the property of foreign oil companies over the protests of the United
States, but the Americans, seeing war on the horizon, were forced to
accept it.
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The Opinions of Many Mexicans
As the clouds of war darkened, many Mexicans wanted to join on one
side or the other. Mexico’s loud communist community first supported
Germany while Germany and Russia had a pact, then supported the
Allied cause once the Germans invaded Russia in 1941. There was a
sizeable community of Italian immigrants who supported entry in the
war as an Axis power as well. Other Mexicans, disdainful of fascism,
supported joining the Allied cause.
The attitude of many Mexicans was colored by historical grievances
with the USA: the loss of Texas and the American west, intervention
during the revolution and repeated incursions into Mexican territory
caused a lot of resentment. Some Mexicans felt that the United States
was not to be trusted. These Mexicans did not know what to think:
some felt that they should join the Axis cause against their old
antagonist, while others did not want to give the Americans an excuse
to invade again and counseled strict neutrality.
Manuel Ávila Camacho and support for the USA
In 1940, Mexico elected conservative PRI (Revolutionary Party)
candidate Manuel Ávila Camacho. From the start of his term, he
decided to stick with the United States. Many of his fellow Mexicans
disapproved of his support for their traditional foe to the north and at
first they railed against Ávila, but when Germany invaded Russia,
many Mexican communists began supporting the president. In
December of 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked5, Mexico was one
of the first countries to pledge support and aid, and they severed all
diplomatic ties with the Axis powers. At a conference in Rio de Janeiro
of Latin American foreign ministers in January of 1942, the Mexican
delegation convinced many other countries to follow suit and break
ties with the Axis powers.
Mexico saw immediate rewards for its support. US capital flowed into
Mexico, building factories for wartime needs. The US purchased
Mexican oil and sent technicians to quickly build up Mexican mining
operations for much-needed metals like mercury6, zinc7, copper8 and
more. The Mexican armed forces were built up with US weapons and
training. Loans were made to stabilize and boost industry and security.
Benefits up North
This invigorated partnership also paid great dividends for the United
States of America. For the first time, an official, organized program for
migrant farm workers was developed and thousands of Mexican
“braceros” (literally, “arms”) flowed north to harvest crops. Mexico
produced important wartime goods such as textiles and construction
materials. In addition, thousands of Mexicans – some estimates reach
as high as a half-million – joined the US armed forces and fought
valiantly in Europe and the Pacific. Many were second or third
generation and had grown up in the US, while others had been born in
Mexico. Citizenship was automatically granted to veterans and after
the war thousands settled in their new home.
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Mexico Goes to War
Mexico had been cool to Germany since the start of the war and hostile
after Pearl Harbor. After German submarines began attacking Mexican
merchant ships and oil tankers, Mexico formally declared war on the
Axis powers in May of 1942. The Mexican navy began actively
engaging German vessels and Axis spies in the country were rounded
up and arrested. Mexico began to plan to actively join in combat.
Eventually, only the Mexican Air Force would see combat. Their pilots
trained in the United States and by 1945 they were ready to fight in
the Pacific. It was the first time that Mexican armed forces were
deliberately prepared for overseas combat. The 201st Air Fighter
Squadron, nicknamed the “Aztec Eagles,” was attached to the 58th
fighter group of the United States Air Force and sent to the Philippines
in March of 1945.
The Squadron consisted of 300 men, 30 of which were pilots for the 25
P-47 aircraft that comprised the unit. The squad saw a fair amount of
action in the waning months of the war, mostly flying ground support
for infantry operations. By all accounts they fought bravely and flew
skillfully, seamlessly integrated with the 58th. They only lost one pilot
and aircraft in combat.
Negative Effects in Mexico
World War Two was not a time of unmitigated goodwill and progress
for Mexico. The economic boom was mostly enjoyed by the rich and
the gap between the rich and the poor widened to levels unseen since
the reign of Porfirio Díaz. Inflation raged out of control, and lesser
officials and functionaries of Mexico’s immense bureaucracy, left out of
the economic benefits of the wartime boom, increasingly turned to
accepting petty bribes (“la mordida,” or “the bite”) to fulfill their
functions. Corruption was rampant at higher levels, too, as wartime
contracts and the flow of US dollars created irresistible opportunities
for dishonest industrialists and politicians to overcharge for projects or
skim from budgets.
This new alliance had its doubters on both sides of the borders. Many
Americans complained of the high costs of modernizing their neighbor
to the south, and some populist Mexican politicians railed against the
US intervention – this time economic, not military.
Legacy
All in all, Mexico’s support of the United States and timely entry into
the war would prove highly beneficial. Transportation, industry,
agriculture and the military all took great leaps forward. The economic
boom also helped indirectly improve other services such as education
and health care.
Most of all, the war created and strengthened ties with the USA that
have lasted to this day. Before the war, relations between the US and
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Mexico were marked by wars, invasions, conflict and intervention. For
the first time, the US and Mexico worked together against a common
enemy and immediately saw the vast benefits of cooperation. Although
relations between the two nations have undergone some rough
patches since the war, they have never again sunk to the disdain and
hatred of the nineteenth century.
As for the war, it is unfortunate that Mexico’s significant contributions
are often overlooked. Even before their official declaration of war,
Mexico closed its ports to German ships and submarines: had they not,
the effect on US shipping might have been disastrous. Mexico’s
industrial and mineral production was an important part of the US
effort, and the economic importance of the thousands of farm workers
manning the fields while the American men were away cannot be
overstated. Also, let us not forget that while Mexico officially only saw
a bit of aerial combat, thousands of Mexican grunts did fight, bleed
and die for the Allied cause, all the while wearing an American
uniform.
Source:
Herring, Hubert. A History of Latin America From the Beginnings to the
Present. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1962.
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